A'ja Wilson still grinds through shooting drills after every practice. That relentless work ethic has defined her since she was the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft.
On Thursday, the Las Vegas Aces center received a voicemail from former Vice President Kamala Harris congratulating her on redefining greatness across the league after she was named WNBA MVP for the third straight year and the fifth time in her career.
"It's obviously an honor," Wilson said. "A woman who is part of our history, and I'm just so grateful that I was able to share that moment with her through the call and the message congratulating me on my fifth MVP."
Beyond becoming the first player to win the award three years in a row, Wilson also took home the honor in 2020 and 2022.
League Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, Aces owner Mark Davis and team president Nikki Fargas presented Wilson with the trophy alongside her mother, Eva.
"None of these are small," Wilson said, standing next to all five of her MVP trophies. "In my heart, they're always special. But this one, I cried a little bit more. This one hit a little different... When you dream as a kid, you dream big and you write down goals, and you never imagine you can check them all off.
And when you're able to check them off — the small wins, the big wins — it really means a lot. I think that's why I cried more with this one, because 15-year-old A'ja wasn't sitting here dreaming about being a five-time MVP. She wasn't dreaming about being a three-time champion. She was dreaming about surviving in this world."
At 30, Wilson once again led the league in scoring with 26.2 points per game on nearly 53% shooting. She averaged 9.4 rebounds, a career-high 3.2 assists and 1.9 blocks.
Wilson has carried the defending champion Aces back to the WNBA semifinals for an eighth straight year, even as Las Vegas trails Golden State 0-2 in the best-of-five series. Game 3 is Friday.
"It's amazing. I love this, not going to take it for granted, go out and shine and do it," Wilson said Thursday. "But tomorrow, when it comes to raising the trophy in front of the fans, I love the fans... but I think I'm not going to do that. I'm going to warm up with the team. Everybody in this room knows how I play. Everybody knows my main focus is to win a game."
Wilson received 65 first-place votes and nine second-place votes for 713 points from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Olivia Miles of Minnesota got six first-place votes and 40 second-place votes (442 points), followed by Indiana guards Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark with 287 and 212 points, respectively.
No WNBA player besides Wilson has more than three MVP awards. Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson each have three. In the NBA, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has six, while Michael Jordan and Bill Russell each have five.
"A'ja Wilson is one of one," Fargas said. "She is in a tier that no WNBA player in the history of this league has been in. She's in the conversation with the Michael Jordans and Wayne Gretzkys of the world — where she belongs."
